Caribbean Vacation: Part 2
by KELZTASTiC
Summary: Sequel to our first fic. Jack/OC, Will/OC, the plot follows Dead Man's Chest.
1. Go Othello

**A/N: I'm posting it. Yay me. We took down the first part because um...well, we were freaky pre-pubescent girls. This is much better. We don't own those movies. Unfortunately Jerry Bruckheimer does.**

Caribbean Vacation, AKA What Happened After the 1st Movie

So after a few days aboard the Black Pearl, Kelsey and I had managed to find appropriate pirate-y garb! We won't go into too much detail, but I will say we both were sexy biznitches. Since we are.

"Yeah, we're hot." Kelsey said as she twirled a blonde strand of hair around her finger. She wasn't doing anything that could be construed as helpful (as per usual) but her just being around Jack gave him some 'motivation'. We were currently lounging around below deck since no one wanted us underfoot. Their loss, our gain of free time.

"Damn straight." I replied absently as I put my feet up in my hammock. "I can't wait until the guys can see these outfits." I grinned smugly. "Will's jaw will go straight through the deck."

"He's not used to your kind of woman, dearey."

"Heh."

"So... Now what?" Kelsey asked. "I'm bored."

"Me too. Wanna go bug the crew?"

"I thought you'd never ask." She grinned wickedly as she rubbed her hands together evilly. "I am evil after all."

So we headed up on deck and blinked as the Caribbean sun blinded us momentarily. "It burns us!" I hissed.

"Wrong movie, Mar."

"Sorry." I muttered. When I could see again, I made a beeline for a certain pirate named William Turner. Kelsey in turn scouted out her beloved Captain Jack Sparrow.

As the Black Pearl was in desperate need of repairs after being involved in numerous sea skirmishes, every hand that knew what they were doing was needed. That didn't include us n00bs. Will was currently sharpening the swords of all the crew members. Jack had insisted every blade be ready to stick the pointy end in other people. I hovered behind him, standing on tiptoe to stare over his bent-over shoulder. I let out a dreamy sigh and he jumped nearly a foot in the air.

"Bloody-!" He shouted before turning around and blinking. "Oh. Hello Mary." Before I even had the chance to reply, his eyes had already widened at my new choice of wardrobe. "Uhhhh..."

"I take it you like my new clothes?" I raised an eyebrow amusedly. His eyes were currently scanning my body in that way only horny men can. Oh yeah, this was worth it.

He swallowed. "Yes. Yes, you look lovely." Will managed to whisper.

Oh, this was rich. I winked broadly at him, kissed his cheek then wandered off. I swung my hips intentionally since I could still feel his eyes on me. "Thanks love!" I called over my shoulder.

Kelsey skipped merrily over to where Jack was steering the ship. She threw her arms around him and called, "Hello!" He didn't seem phased by this random act of affection, but continued steering.

"'Ello love. What're you doing?"

"Hugging." She said matter-of-factly. "I'm hugging."

Jack rolled his kohl-lined eyes. "I could've figured that me-self." He did grin however. "What, my fair lady, is the occasion?"

"No reason." Kelsey beamed. Jack still hadn't turned around yet, and she wasn't about to leave until he did.

When she didn't let go after another 3 minutes, Jack kept one hand on the wheel and turned around. "Alright love, what be the meanin' of-" He stopped his sentence in its tracks when he saw her new outfit.

"What?" she asked innocently.

He opened his mouth a few times, but no words came out. Finally he managed, "Nice outfit."

"Thanks, Jack!" She grinned and twirled as she went on her merry way. Jack looked extremely pleased when he got his mind back on steering the ship.

When she made her way back to me, she just shook her head, smiling, "Men are so predictable. I think Will is still reeling."

I laughed, and glanced at the aforementioned person, who was trying his best not to stare at me. I waved, a really dorky grin plastered on my face.

Will blushed, and looked back down at the swords he was 'working' on.

"Maybe there's a reason they put us below deck." Kelsey remarked.

"We're a little bit of a distraction." I agreed.

"A little?"

"OK, maybe a lot." I admitted, "Well, we've done our damage of the day."

I looked back one more time at Will, who nearly crushed his finger with the hammer when he saw me staring.

"Yeah, that's mine." I said, rolling my eyes, "He's my bitch."

"Don't let him hear that. He might have a coronary."

"Oh, shut up. You think he's a wimp, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do."

I narrowed my eyes at her, "He's a sexy beast. In the sack."

"How would you know?" she retorted.

"I don't. But I assume he is!" I said, flustered.

"'Kay..." she said, "Wow."

"Like you don't fantasize about Jack in your bed."

"Hmph. I already know the truth about it."

"What are you suggesting?" I shot at her.

"I'm not suggesting anything. I'm just _implying_ that you and Will are prudes." Kelsey said, trying to contain her laughter.

"Yeah?" I glared beadily, "I don't see you making the beast with two backs with the Captain. GO OTHELLO!"

The random pirate midget named Marty walked by, and then chose to ignore us.

"Yeah, yeah, well..."

"I see you have no clever come-back for my awesomeness." I said, smirking.

"I wouldn't say it was that." She said.

"Uh huh. Right." I drawled, "You're a hypocrite."

"I am not!"

"Yeah, you are."

"Well. Maybe." She mumbled.

"Now that we have this argument settled, let's go back below deck, since we aren't really doing anything productive." I said, going down the stairs.

"Do we ever do anything productive?"

We both laughed.

"Wanna go help the cook? We could make fruit salad again!" I exclaimed excitedly.

"We must keep this crew scurvy-free!" Kelsey agreed.

So we scampered back below where we proceeded to get underfoot in the galley when attempting to make fruit salad. The cook wasn't pleased that we were getting in his way but grudgingly let us stay since Kelsey was kind of the Captain's wench, and I was the wench of the first-mate. We owned his ass.

In the end we made quite a lovely dish of fruit salad for dinner and when it was time to eat, the crew was baffled by the presence of bright colors in their food. Even after Jack and Will both dug in enthusiastically, the crew was still hesitant.

"EAT IT DAMMIT!" I shouted, pounding my small fist down on the table to produce a very loud thump. Needless to say, they all had clean plates in a very short amount of time. What can I say? I'm very maternal. And persuasive. And violent. The combination of all three is quite deadly.

After dinner was over, the crew meandered off to do whatever it was that they did usually. I don't know or really care what that was, so deal with it. I wanted to go talk to Will, but he was conspicuously absent. Hmm. I would have gone to look for him, but my magpie sized attention span decided I wanted to go see what kind of shiny things they had below deck. Yay for pirate swag! Oh ah. Kelsey decided to join me, because she too enjoyed shiny objects.

Meanwhile, Will started to ascend the stairs to the upper deck, but a hand grabbed his collar, "Will?"

"What?" he turned and saw Jack behind him, "Oh. It's you. What do you want?"

"Well, I have something I need to talk to you about." Jack said, beginning to drag the younger man behind him by the collar.

"You can't just ask me to come with you?" Will asked, "And you're choking me!"

"Not my fault." Jack said dismissively, "Step into me office."

"Do I have a choice?" Will said dryly.

"No, not really." Jack said with a shrug, "And it's really all your fault you're getting dragged in here, anyway."

"What did I do?"

"Really, mate, it's a question of what you _didn't_ do." Jack said.

Will stared blankly, looking very confused, "Um...alright..."


	2. Doing the Deed

**A/N: Oh you're continuing? Good for you.**

Once they were in Jack's cabin and Will had no feasible way to escape, Jack took a seat. "Sit down, dear William."

Now Will was very frightened. He took a seat across the room.

"Dammit, I can't give you advice if you're sitting all the way over there! Move!" Jack snapped. 'This is why I'm not nice very often.' He thought to himself. 'I could use some rum right about now.'

Will hesitantly obliged. "What advice are you talking about?"

"Now, dear Will, we have established by this point that you are certainly not a eunuch." Jack said, to which Will responded with a glare of the utmost fury, but Jack continued, "I'm sure you've noticed Rose and I have been more...intimate...lately."

"Well, more than usual." Will said.

"Why do you think that is?" Jack said, as if speaking to someone much younger than Will's nineteen years.

"I'm not as stupid as you seem to think I am. I know why." Will said, folding his arms.

"Oh. I thought I was going to have to tell you about the birds and the bees, seeing as you're so, well, innocent all the time." Jack said.

"Jack, I know what prostitutes do for a living." Will rolled his eyes, "Plus, Mary and I heard, anyway."

"Everyone knows?" Jack asked, appearing surprised.

"No, we _HEARD_." Will enunciated the last

"Oh." Jack wasn't fazed at all by this, "Interesting. Why aren't you and Mary contributing to the noise on this boat?"

"WHAT?!" Will nearly fell out of his chair. His face was turning scarlet very quickly.

"Why...aren't..." Jack began to repeat himself, but Will held up a hand.

"No. I mean...uh, I'm just...we're not married?" Will tried to make an excuse.

"So?" Jack said, "Didn't really stop us."

"Jack, you also have no morals." Will said bluntly.

Jack rolled his eyes, "And I'm far more content than you are with my life."

"It's not that I'm not content," Will replied crossly, "I just don't want to do anything to make Mary uncomfortable."

"I doubt she'd be uncomfortable, mate." Jack said dryly, "Especially if I let you borrow my cabin for the evening."

Will looked very torn. "Well, uh, I, I can't, I mean, M-Mary..."

"Don't you want to?" Jack pointed accusingly.

"That's none of your business!"

"Of course it is. This is my ship, and I own all of you. So if your lack of love-making makes life more difficult for me, then I must intervene."

"How is Mary and I not making love inconveniencing you?" Will snapped.

"Rose feels sorry for Mary." Jack glared. "And I have to hear about it. So, are you going to do it or what?"

"Do what?"

"Her."

Will had had enough. "THAT IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS JACK SPARROW!" And with that, the blacksmith-turned-pirate stormed out of the captain's quarters with an expression that would have soured milk.

My magpie sized attention span had grown weary of the shiny things below deck and had headed back up into the sunset. I saw Will storm out of Jack's office fuming and looking quite upset, I hurried over. "Will? What's wrong?"

Will turned red when he saw me. "Oh, n-n-nothing." He stammered. "Jack just said something I didn't want to hear."

"Should I beat him up for you?" I looked up at him curiously.

"No, no, that's alright. I'll see you tonight." With a hasty kiss to my forehead, he disappeared. I blinked repeatedly. What was that about? I found Kelsey a few minutes later.

"I think your boyfriend scarred Will." I told her frankly. "He looked like he wanted to die of mortification when he talked to me."

Kelsey looked like she was ready to kill something. "HE DIDN'T! I told him not to say anything! Oh, I'm going to kill that Sparrow!" She barged into Jack's cabin, where a lot of yelling and screaming commenced.

That left me all alone. All by myself. There was no one there beside me. I was all alone. Ok, Spamalot reference over. I just sorta sulked and said crazy things to any pirate dumb enough to bother me.

Kelsey then left the cabin, appearing pleased with herself, "Well, that was easy. Yeah. I gotta go find Will now and do a bit of damage control."

I stared confusedly after her as she stalked off.

"What is everyone not telling me?" I whined to deaf ears.

Kelsey found Will on the upper deck, trying to finish the swords. He looked quite disturbed over something.

"Hello." She said.

He looked up, "Oh, hello, Rose."

"Um, that thing that just happened...it wasn't supposed to happen." Rose said, shaking her head.

He sighed, "I've had enough of being confused today. Please tell me what you're trying to say."

"Jack's little...discussion...with you wasn't supposed to happen. He's just an idiot." Kelsey said shortly.

"Well, you didn't need to tell me that last bit. I was already aware of that." Will said wryly, "And I'm fine. Really."

"Yeah, you don't look fine." Kelsey observed, "We were supposed to give you some time. Plus, Mary's upset."

"Why?" Will looked worried.

"She thinks you're mad at her. Go console her." Kelsey instructed.

"I'll have you know that _you_ were the reason Jack gave me that enlightening talk. He said he was tired of listening to you feel sorry for Mary and I." Will said, putting down a sword.

"Oh. Really?" Kelsey's eye twitched, "Excuse me for a moment."

Will was pleased with himself, "I feel a bit better now."

He felt even better when he heard angry screams coming from Jack's cabin. He guessed the Captain wasn't getting anything tonight.

But, back to me. It was getting dark and since I had no friends I decided I might as well go to bed. I snuggled into Will's and my hammock. I supposed he wouldn't be in the mood to share. What was up with him anyway? And why was everyone not telling me things? I felt so out of the loop.

After I had started to doze, I felt someone poking my arm. "Wha...?" As you can see, I'm so very eloquent when I'm sleepy.

It was Will. That made me wake up. "Mary, I, I wanted to apologize for earlier. I wasn't angry with you. I was angry with Jack."

"Understandable. What'd he do this time?"

"He stuck his nose where it didn't belong, and that's all I'm going to say." Will replied firmly.

"When does Jack not stick his nose where it doesn't belong?"

"Good point."

"C'mon, there's plenty of room for you here too." I shifted over in the hammock so Will could join me. He wrapped his arms around me and I snuggled into his chest. The innocence of that scene didn't last very long once we started kissing.

"And what's that for, Mr. Turner?" I asked breathlessly.

"No reason." He kissed me again. And again. And again. Pretty soon it was apparent that the hammock was going to dump us both out if we couldn't find somewhere else to hold each other without the risk of falling. "You know, Jack said he wasn't going to be in his cabin tonight." Will breathed in my ear.

"Then why the hell are we still here?"

And with the aid of Will's nifty door-locking-with-a-sword trick, we spent quite a lovely evening undisturbed. Apart from Jack making a failed attempt to get back in. But he was frightened off easily enough.

The next morning when Will and I poked our heads out of Jack's cabin, cheers erupted from the crew.

Mr. Gibbs gave Will hearty, "Busy night Mr. Turner?" and slapped his back.

I must have had a really stupid look on my face, because Kelsey whispered, "Hon, check the face. You look like an idiot."

"Oh. Sorry." Kelsey steered me away from the cheering onlookers who were congratulating Will and making him turn many a shade of red in a matter of seconds.

She grinned impishly, "So? It finally happened?"

I blushed a color to rival Will's, "Yeah…"

"That's all you can say?" she was bursting with excitement, "Can't you give a little more detail than _that_??"

"I'll give you one word: Wow." I sounded it out as if it were three syllables.

She raised her perfectly-arched eyebrows, "That good, huh?"

I nodded vehemently. I was speechless, that's for sure, "Uh, well, Kels?"

She tucked a blonde curl behind her ear, "Yes?"

"How did everyone know that we were…well…doing the deed?" I inquired, curious.

"Oh, please." Kelsey drawled, "You and dear William have been avoiding it for weeks. It was coming soon enough."

"Jack had nothing to do with this? At all?" I asked incredulously.

"Maybe he gave Will a little push." Kelsey admitted, but thrust her palms in front of her as if they were a shield, "But nothing more! I promise!"

"Ok…" I said, relieved that Will did it of his own free…will, "So, how are you and the pirate captain faring?"

She smiled blissfully, "Well, we got past that small disagreement. In the end, he saw things my way."

"What did you do?" I was interested in the answer.

She leaned over, "Let's just say he was going to be out of some physical obligations of ours for a long while if he didn't apologize."

I laughed uproariously, "Ah. No sex. I'm sure that worked like a charm."

"It sure as hell did. And apology sex was damn good." Kelsey flipped her blonde hair back, and looked over her shoulder at Jack, who was staring at her intently. She gave him a flirtatious wave, and he grinned, returning the gesture. He beckoned her over.

"Girl, you got him whipped." I said, shaking my head in disbelief.

"More or less." She said, "I wear pants for a reason, sweetie."

She literally skipped over to him, and he put his arm around her waist protectively. As if anyone was going to steal her away from him. The last person who made a pass at her ended up with Jack's pistol to his head and a threat to walk the plank into shark-infested waters. Let's just say no one ever tried that again.

"What were you two ladies talking about?" Jack asked, kissing her cheek.

"Oh. Things that don't concern a nosy pirate captain." She retorted, kissing him full on the mouth, which received some cat-calls from the crew. She swiveled around and gave them a death glare, and they all shut their mouths real fast.

"I see." Jack said, looking dejected, "Secrets are no fun at all."

"Fine, I'll humor you." She caved, as usual, "It was Will and Mary matters, and that is all I will allow you to know."

She then pried his arm off of her, and strode over to the stairs, hips swinging intentionally. Jack watched her retreating figure for a moment or two, and then ran after her.

I smiled. Men are so easily swayed by the fair gender.

Suddenly, a pair of arms grabbed me around the waist from behind, and lips kissed my neck, "I am deeply sorry for all the attention. I just barely escaped."

I turned to face Will, "Quite alright. I hope you didn't spare them any details."

"Of course not." He said, looking offended, "I would do absolutely nothing to impugn your honor. What we do together is none of their concern."

"Thank you." I embraced him. I glanced over at the crew and gave them a dirty look that definitely conveyed, 'Say something and so help me God, I will kill you.'

They were silent as the grave.

"Come, we must be heading up to the deck." I offered him my hand, and he took it.

"Shouldn't we change our clothes first?" Will suggested politely.

"Oh. Yes." I said, embarrassed.

We made our way back below deck.

"Going at it again?" one crew member shouted.

I gave him a sickly-sweet smile, and used a nice finger gesture. I then stomped down the stairs, leaving the pirate in deep shock.

Will's eyes were wide, "My goodness."

"Please don't look so surprised. A woman learns a few things as she goes along." I said with a nonchalant shrug, pulling an outfit out from my chest of garments.

"Would you like me to leave while you dress?" Will asked, crossing to the door.

"It doesn't really matter now." I said, "You've already seen me without clothing."

"Yes, but it still would be proper…" Will said, persistent.

"Well, if you think it would tempt you too much, I understand." I said, slight disappointment apparent in my tone.

He appeared relieved, "Alright. I will see you soon."

I waved as he exited. I sighed as I collapsed into my hammock. Still modest Will.

I finished dressing for the day, and went up to the deck. I blinked to get rid of the horrifically bright sun beating down on me. I surveyed the ship, searching for Will. When I didn't see him at first, I began to wander aimlessly.

I peered around the mast, and nearly jumped back. Kelsey and Jack were making out, and putting up a good show of it. As much as the scene grossed me out, I was really in need of my Will's whereabouts. I tapped Jack on the shoulder.

He paused, and let out an audible sigh of annoyance, "What do you want?"

"Where is Will?"

"Working on the swords, like he usually is. Now will you leave me be? I'm a little bit busy, as it were." Jack said, shooing me away.

"I could see that." I said, wrinkling my nose in disgust, "Don't you have any shame?"

"Not really." He said shortly, and turned back to Kelsey.

"Aren't you supposed to be steering the ship?" I inquired, just to piss him off. He slowly turned back around, and gave me a simpering smile.

"Gibbs is doing a fine job of it. I am the Captain of this ship; I can do whatever the hell I please. And if it pleases me to kiss me girlfriend, then I will do it. Go." He commanded.

"Oh, fine, fine." I rolled my eyes.

"Bye, Mary!" Kelsey called as I walked away, and then was engulfed by Jack again.

My eye twitched a little. PDA has always bothered me. And seeing your best friend playing tonsil hockey right in front of you is plain lovely. Note my sarcasm.

I began my quest for my boyfriend again. I finally found him, sharpening his own sword. Well, I guess Jack was right.

I looked up at the sky to make sure it wasn't falling. Nope. Well. Ok then.

Will was leaning over the weapon, brow furrowed in deep concentration. Would I ruin this moment just for my own personal gain? DUHHH.


	3. The Love Boat

**A/N: MORE MADNESS. yay.**

"Hello." I greeted him perkily.

"Hello." He replied calmly.

Damn. He was catching on.

"Didn't you sharpen your sword yesterday?" I asked, plunking myself down next to him. I nearly burst out in hysterical laughter at how utterly dirty that sounded. But I restrained.

"Yes, well, I felt it needed some more work." He said distractedly.

"Am I bothering you?"

"Not really. Actually, your presence soothes me more than bothers me. It's good that I can see what you're doing." Will said, inspecting the sword in the sun.

"Oh, Will, you think I get myself into trouble when you're not around?" I asked innocently, peering up at him.

"Frankly, yes, I do." Will said curtly.

"Fair enough." I said with a shrug, "I like honesty."

He nodded, and put down the sword, "Are you in need of anything?"

"No, not in particular. I just like being near you."

He smiled down at me warmly, and gave me a gentle kiss on the lips, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." I said, face flushing.

Will glanced over at Jack and Kelsey. He raised an eyebrow, "They're not finished yet? I swear, they've been at it for about fifteen minutes now."

This…didn't surprise me at all, "Ah. Well, Jack has never really been a private person."

"True." Will bit his lip, "It's so distracting, though."

"I think I can remedy this situation." I stood up, and yelled across the deck, "GET A FREAKING ROOM, YOU TWO!!"

Will clapped a hand over my mouth, embarrassed by my crudeness, "Mary. Be nice."

"I am being nice." I said matter-of-factly.

Jack looked over at me and Will, "It seems we're bothering some people."

"No way. What was your first clue?" Kelsey commented sarcastically.

"Well, I think we should take the hint." Jack said, playing with her hair absent-mindedly.

"Fine, fine, we'll stop." Kelsey said, not bothering to conceal her disappointment.

"No. I mean, we should get a room." Jack said, grabbing her hand.

She didn't budge, "Oh, Jack, you're a pervert. Can't it wait?"

"No." he said, shaking his head, which caused his braids to flail wildly, "No, it can't."

"Alright." Kelsey said with a definitely feigned sigh, "I guess we can."

Jack grinned, "Good. Off we go then."

The pair ran across the deck and made it to the staircase before Jack paused. He turned around, and announced to all on the Black Pearl, "Rose and I will be in my cabin for the next three or four hours. If any one of you dare to bother me, it's obvious to me that you find the bottom of the ocean to be a very inviting place."

All the crew members nodded simultaneously, "Understood."

"Thanks very much!" Kelsey shouted as he pulled her down the stairs.

I stared after them. "Well."

"Yes…" Will said, at a loss for words.

"It takes them three or four hours to have sex?" I asked, cocking my head, "Were they timing themselves?"

"I don't want to know, I don't want to know, I REALLY don't want to know." Will said, covering his ears and nearly beginning to hyperventilate. Scratch that. He did hyperventilate.

"You need a paper bag or something?"

"No," he took a deep breath, "…No. I'm fine. Please just never mention what you said. Ever. Again."

"Not even as blackmail?"

"No."

"Fine." I pouted slightly.

'Good." Will took a shuddering breath, and then set back to work on the swords.

After a few moments, I was growing bored. Without my partner in crime, life seemed to go by much slower than it usually did.

"Can I bother them? Please?"

"No, Mary." Will said with an exasperated sigh.

"But I have nothing to do!" I whined.

"You could help me with the swords." Will offered.

I gave him a patronizing look, "Will, you know as well as I do that if I even touch that sword, I will probably cut my finger off."

Will looked at the sword, then me, then the sword again, "I suppose you're right about that statement."

"Um, there really should have been an 'insert compliment here.'" I said.

He cocked his head at me, and I just sighed, "Never mind."

Maybe we should do a little focus on the other insane pair for a while. Well, they are a great deal more insane. Well, at least one of them is…no, wait, both…? Erm, let's just continue with the story.

"You wanna know something ironic?" Kelsey asked as she stared up at the ceiling, reclining in the bed she and Jack shared. May I mention the _only_ bed on the ship? Hmph.

"Alright. Tell me something ironic." Jack replied, pulling her close to him.

"My mother always said I was obsessed with pirates, and that I shouldn't dream about running off with one." she began to laugh, "She always said they were 'dangerous'."

"Then you are sleeping with danger, love." Jack grinned, "In more ways than one."

She hit him with a pillow, "Must you turn everything into sexual innuendo?"

"Yes." This warranted him another blow to the head with the feathery demon. Kelsey wondered if she had just caused him to lose another few of his remaining brain cells.

"Damn it, you're abusive." Jack said, trying vainly to regain his equilibrium, "Remind me as to why I love you so much."

Kelsey thought about this for a moment or two, "Because I'm probably the only person who is compliant to having sex with you."

"Fair enough." He said with a shrug. He sat up, yawning, "I might want to get back to what I am supposed to be doing."

"Why?" Kelsey jutted out her lower lip, and threw her arms around his neck, "I'm still really horny."

Jack closed his eyes, swallowing a few times before replying, "As extremely tempting as you are, love, the crew is a bit lost without my guidance."

"Fine." She pouted, and buried her face in the pillows, "Just leave me here, naked and really horny, while you go do boring captain-of-the-pirate-ship things."

She felt a body embrace hers from behind, and his voice whispered in her ear, "I'll be back as soon as humanly possible. Stay in here. And keep your clothes off."

She grinned, lifting her head up from the pillows, "Alright."

…

I sat on the edge of the ship, my feet dangling off into the open water of the sea, exactly as Will had instructed me not to do about 20 bazillion times.

Kelsey had not returned from her sexual escapades with the Captain, and I feared that madness was becoming imminent.

Jack emerged from the lower deck, looking mighty pleased with himself, and went up to higher deck where Gibbs was steering, "Gibbs, can you take care of this for another hour?"

"Aye, captain, but where will you be?"

Jack grinned, "Where do you think I'll be?"

"I see." Gibbs rolled his eyes, "I swear, Cap'n, that girl is starting to be a bit of a distraction."

"Well, she's a good distraction." Jack retorted.

I called as he walked by, "How much longer are you keeping my…" I had to pause for a moment, because it always tripped me up, "…sister in there?"

"As long as I'd prefer, Miss Mary quite contrary." He sing-songed as he swaggered below deck.

"Don't call me that!" I shouted as the door slammed behind him.

Another hour or so later, my best friend was free of her love prison, which I think she didn't really mind. She skipped across to me, "Hey, honey."

"Hey, dear," I replied, "Are you spent?"

"Quite." She said, "My legs are going to hurt for a week."

"TMI." I wrinkled my nose, resisting the urge to hurl my lunch over the side.

"Sorry," she said, not looking apologetic in the slightest, "When are we making port?"

"I don't know. You'd have to ask your boyfriend." I replied.

"Ah, alright then," she stood up, "Want to go make nuisances of ourselves to everyone aboard this boat?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

…

That night I actually went to bed at a decent hour for once, but Will was conspicuously absent, and that made it a little more difficult to sleep. I had gotten used to him being there, and I had been hoping for a bit of tongue action before bed. My door opened, and I looked up expectantly. It was just Kelsey.

My look of disappointment was quite obvious.

"Geez, no need to look so excited to see me." She said dryly.

"Why are you up at this hour?" I asked.

She climbed into the hammock with me, "Jack hasn't come back yet."

"Neither has Will." I said, "What do you think they're up to?"

"Whatever it is, it must be something good to keep Jack away from sex." She said.

"How many freaking times do you guys do that a day?"

"I don't know…I don't count." She said with a nonchalant shrug.

_Meanwhile…_

"William, I have called you here at this most late hour to partake in your advice." Jack said formally.

The men were sitting on the front edge of the ship, gazing out into the darkness. The stars were reflected in the water, and the ship rocked gently on the waves.

"What sort of advice?" Will asked, looking skeptically at him.

"Womanly advice," Jack answered shortly.

"Hmm, well…I'm not sure that I'm the best at that sort of advice." Will said modestly.

"Oh, please, you have women falling all over you." Jack said, face dead-pan.

Will brushed his shoulder, "I wouldn't exactly say that."

Jack gave him a playful, brotherly sort of shove, "Alright, alright, I'll just ask me question, and you give me the best answer in your mind."

"That I can agree to." Will gave him a half-smile.

"Well, William, I've been around the block with women many a time in my life." Jack began, "And I've loved many women."

"I can believe that." Will said.

"Thank you for your input, but I'm trying to spill me guts out here." Jack frowned.

"I apologize."

"Anyway, I've never really…how do you say it…fallen in love with any particular woman before. But I think now I have…with her, I mean."

"With Rose?"

"No, with Cotton. Yes, damn it, with Rose!" Jack said exasperatedly, "I think I'm in love with her, Will, and I don't know what to do about it."

"Have you told her?"

"Well…no." Jack admitted sheepishly.

"You might want to start by doing that." Will said wryly.

"Got it," Jack said, nodding, "I also…well, I want to marry the girl."

Will's eyebrows almost went into his hairline, "Marry her?"

"Yes, did I stutter?"

"That's just…surprising." Will managed to stammer, "I didn't think you were the marrying type, Jack."

"For her, I would do anything." Jack said with a reckless grin, "She's the one, Will."

"That's wonderful." Will said, truly meaning it, "I'm happy for you."

"Do you think she'd say yes?"

"I certainly think so."

Jack stood up, "Thanks for the help. You're a good chum, William."

"Glad to be of assistance."

"What about you and Mary, then?"

"Why are you so nosy?"

"I have an inquisitive nature." Jack leaned against the side of the ship.

"I don't know yet. I'm still thinking on it. I suppose I'm not really the impulsive man that you are, Jack." Will mused.

"Being impulsive has done me well." Jack said, "I've lived my life on pure luck and improvisation."

"That's pretty apparent."

"Don't be a smart-ass, whelp." Jack laughed, "Well, I'm off to bed."

"Are you proposing tonight?" Will asked as Jack walked away.

"If I get the courage to," Jack called in return.

…


	4. Proposing: Pirate Style

**A/N: This chapter makes me happy. We still don't own these characters. Oh but if we did...**

Kelsey and I were still up, chatting about the most innocent and trivial of things.

"So, how big is it?"

"How big is what?" Kelsey stared up at the ceiling.

"Don't play dumb with me."

"Oh, it's decently proportionate to him."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"I don't know exactly how big; I'm not going to sit there with a fucking ruler and measure it." She said, rolling her eyes.

"Will's is quite large."

"Thanks for that interesting information. I so wanted to know that."

"The sarcasm is really charming." I hit her with a pillow, to which she retaliated most enthusiastically.

As our pillow fight ensued, my door opened yet again to reveal Jack, who stared at the two of us with a raised eyebrow and a smirk, "Hello, ladies."

We stopped.

"Oh, hi, Jack." I said.

"May I have my girlfriend back, please?"

"What do you need her for?"

"Very important matters." He said, walking over to my bunk. He reached upward and lifted Kelsey from the hammock, "Very, very important matters indeed."

"Like sex matters?" I asked.

"Actually, you'd think so, but no, not for that."

Even Kelsey looked surprised, "Oh, really?"

He smiled, "Yes, really."

Watching Jack in the movies was different than seeing him in real life. When you see him, you don't really think he's capable of expressing any type of real human emotion other than greed. But the way he looked at my best friend was so real and profound that it kind of made me want to throw up, but it was adorable anyway. He looked at her like she was the greatest thing since sliced bread, which maybe hadn't been invented yet, but so what?

"Good night, Mary." Kelsey said as they left the room.

"Night, guys." I called after them.

It would have been nice to get a reply, but Jack's infamous piratey speed already had Kelsey whisked out before the door could even finish swinging shut. Hmpf. Well, that's friendship for you. Good for chatting when your sexual partners are MIA, but upon their return, basically nada for the next few hours. Poor me.

I was just beginning to feel good and sorry for myself when the door creaked open for what felt like the bazillionth time. (So bazillion isn't a number. Sue me.) I had so engulfed myself in pity for not having a best friend to talk to, or a lover to make out with that I didn't notice Will come in the room until he was hopping into the hammock with me.

"Hello," he whispered, sliding his arms around my waist.

Any bad thought I had been entertaining, like potentially dangling Will from the crow's nest for putting me through separation anxiety, promptly flung itself out the nearest porthole. "Hello to you too," I replied softly, "Where on earth have you been?"

"Jack had something important to ask me about."

I raised an eyebrow, "So important that Jack was willing to risk my wrath to keep you from me? That _must_ have been important."

His dark eyes smiled into mine as he began caressing my face. "Ah, it was. But all I wanted was to come back to you."

"I hate it when you're gone." Childishly I buried my face into his neck and pulled him close. "Without you, I just feel..."

"Alone?" It was then I remembered Will's childhood, or really, lack-thereof. He had grown up without a father, and left his mother in England when he was still small. If anyone knew what it was like to be alone, it was probably him. How horribly depressing and sad. I held him all the tighter, vowing that on my watch Will Turner would never have to face life alone again.

"Yeah..." I answered a bit belatedly, my distraction obvious.

Will leaned towards me, his breath warm on my skin, "Well, let's see what we can do about that." His lips found mine and his tongue gently pushed against my lips, which I readily opened in kind. After a few minutes, I couldn't remember why I had been upset in the first place. All I knew was that the love of my life was leaving a trail of kisses down my neck that would hopefully never end, and I didn't think that any woman in the world could be as content as I was.

…

"Rose, I've asked you here because I have something to discuss with you."

Jack and Kelsey were lying in his bed, facing one another, his arms wrapped around her torso. He stroked her cheek, "These past few weeks have been beyond anything I've ever dreamed of happening. I've got the Pearl back, but more importantly, I have you."

She flushed, flattered, "Oh, Jack…"

"Shh, let me finish." He put a finger on her lips, "I have thought about this for a really long while, and I think I can do it now."

He sat up, and turned to his bedside table. He rummaged through the drawer for a moment or two, and turned back to her, something in his fist, "I love you, Rose. Will you do me the honor of becoming Mrs. Jack Sparrow?"

He opened his fist, and on his palm was a small diamond ring.

"Oh my God!" Kelsey forgot her English accent for a moment, but quickly recovered, "Jack, are you serious?"

"Yes, very." He put it on her finger.

"Well, the answer is yes, yes, yes!" she tackled him, kissing him firmly on the mouth.

...

The next morning, I woke up in the best possible position; with my limbs hopelessly entangled with those of one William Turner. Now THAT is something that could keep me in bed all day! I inched closer (not that there was very far to go) and started kissing his neck in all the places that I knew he liked. I figured that he might as well get a pleasant rise-and-shine (if you know what I mean, winkwinknudgenudge-saynomoresaynomore. And just as I suspected, Will snapped awake and shook his head like a wet dog, trying to shake any remnants of sleep from his eyes. I was immeasurably pleased with myself.

"And hello to you too," he said in surprise. "And what's the occasion?"

I pouted, "Do I need an occasion to give my bonny lad a pleasant good morning?"

"No... Wait a moment, did you just call me your bonny lad?"

"Yeah," I blushed hotly. You see, I've never been good at vocalizing my feelings for people. It makes me worry that I'm overstepping the boundaries of propriety/personal space/emotional stability/every variety and variation of societal norms/my currently-not-present parents' wishes...I'm crazy I know. "Why?"

"No reason." Will smiled. I hoped that meant that he wasn't weirded out by the whole 'bonny lad' thing. Lord, I did actually call him my 'bonny lad'? I was seriously starting to think my mind was getting taken over by the time period. I was from the 21st century for Christ's sake! Is nothing, even era-appropriate dialects, sacred anymore?! Wow, that was tangential. I digress.

"Well, I'm going to go get something to eat for breakfast, care to join me?" I swung my legs over the edge of the hammock and pulled my articles of clothing that had mysteriously found their way to the floor back onto my body.

Running a hand through his tousled brown curls, Will shook his head, "No thank you, I've got something to take care of this morning."

I wheedled, "But breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

"Why?"

"Because... someone smart says so." Since I had no clever final statement to add, I chose a good-old fashioned stand-by. Sticking out my tongue like a 2 year old.

With a chuckle, Will kissed my forehead. "I'll stop by the kitchens, my love. I promise." And with that, he was out the door.

Once he was gone I allowed myself to turn into a puddle of goo. He called me 'my love'! How sweet and adorably pirate-y is that?

Now away from the temptation that is _me_, Will made a beeline for Jack's cabin. Bracing himself for the wrath of a perpetually horny pirate captain, he rapped on the door three times. From the other side of the door, Will heard various thumps, hissing and what sounded like Jack hopping around trying to pull his boots on. His guess on that score proved correct when Jack opened the door while still in the process of applying his footwear.

"Whaddya want, whelp?" He growled. "I happened to be sleeping before you decided to create all that ruckus."

"My apologies." Will replied sincerely, "But Jack... I'm here to ask a favor of you."

Jack's kohl-lined eyes narrowed. "And what per se does this 'favor' require of me?"

He took a deep breath before saying softly. "I want to ask for Mary's hand in marriage."

"'Bout time there mate. Thought you'd never get to it."

"Do you mind holding off your insults until I finish telling you what I need?"

"Consider me lips sealed." Jack mimed zipping his lips shut with a smirk.

Will paused suspiciously before continuing. "Well, I want to propose to her, but I don't have a ring. And I want to do this right, so I was wondering-"

"If you could use part of your share of the booty to find Mary an engagement ring? That sound about right?" Jack interrupted. "Well, feel free to search the swag down below mate. I'll tell the boys not to bother you on your way down, savvy?"

"Thank you, Jack." Will smiled gratefully. "I wasn't sure you'd let me."

"After the counsel you gave me last night whelp, I owed you. Now we're fair and square." Jack peeked back into the room, and Will caught a glimpse of Kelsey still sleeping in the bed.

"I've disturbed you enough as it is. Go back to bed for awhile. I'll see you on deck." Will graciously departed and made his way down into the bowels of the Black Pearl where all the loot was normally stored until port was reached. Thankfully, he had grabbed a lantern on the way down so at least he had a light.

"Now, if I was a ring, where would I be?" Will asked himself out loud, before surreptitiously checking to make sure no one had heard him talking to himself just then. "Hmm..." He spotted a rather promising looking chest, probably stolen off of some unfortunate merchant's vessel. Thankfully it wasn't locked. Will eased the lid open to glance inside.

He let out a loud yelp when he saw what appeared to be a decaying foot sitting at the top of the pile. Gingerly, Will picked it up and threw it as far away from him as he could. He squirmed and muttered nervously "Ahhh, it was dead, that was a dead foot, what the hell, a foot, oh, what barbarians have I surrounded myself with, that was filthy, it was probably diseased, and dear God I'm beginning to ramble like Mary does!"

Taking a steeling breath, he looked again inside the trunk. He found coins and necklaces aplenty, but no rings. 6 trunks later, Will still hadn't found anything he felt worth giving to me. Aww. Upset, he placed a firm kick to the side of another trunk before howling in pain from the unexpected solidity of the wood. The lid flipped open and right on top of the pile of treasure was exactly what Will Turner had been looking for.

...

All the while, I remained completely unawares of the actions of my most significant other. I had popped into the kitchen, offered the cook my help in the most polite of fashions, and was immediately shown the door with a look of terror spasming across the man's face. Hmm. I wonder what I ever could have done elicit that sort of reaction? ...Mwahaha.

In any case, I was forced to wait until the rest of the crew was awake to eat a meal of hard tack and limes. Delightful I swear. But Jack was now obsessed with the idea of preventing scurvy and forced us to eat fruit at every meal. Even if the flavors clashed most unpleasantly.

After breakfast, I decided to go get some sun up on deck. Mister Gibbs offered me a job that I was actually interested in: cleaning! Yes, I enjoy that chore that sets most peoples' teeth a grindin'. I was instructed to scrub the woodwork along the stairs and the outside of the captain's quarters. I picked up a bucket, a brush, and a slimy bar of lye soap and set to my duty. I was quickly covered in soap suds, but I continued humming merrily to myself. Cleaning was just so... relaxing. Quite the relief from terrorizing a pirate crew.

Meanwhile, Will bounded up the stairs two at a time, whistling happily as he went to ascertain my location from Jack. He rapped on the door for a second time and heard noises quite similar to those heard previously.

"I certainly hope you disturbin' me rest isn't going to become a habit, whelp." Jack glared after opening the door a crack.

"Have you seen Mary?" Will's mood wasn't going to be affected by Jack's crabbiness.

"I heard Gibbs gave her the pleasure of swabbing some of the woodwork. You may find her up on deck." Jack eyed the younger man suspiciously, "I don't think I've ever seen ye this excited lad. And I'm not sure I like it."

Will chuckled. "Thanks Jack. Give Rose my apologies for disturbing you."

"Now what makes you think she's in here?"

"...No reason."

"I'll give her the message. Now why don't you go bother someone else? Like your future bride?"

His chocolate eyes danced merrily. "I shall. My thanks again, Jack."

The captain grumbled and muttered dismissively before slamming the door shut.

With a grin, Will went up on deck to search for a completely unsuspecting me.

"Oooh, bubbles!" I squealed as I splashed in my bucket and created a spurt of opalescent bubbles. The detailed carvings in the wood were becoming clearer by the minute thanks to my elbow grease. I was also soaked and covered with soap suds. Well, to get stuff clean, you have to get dirty sometimes. What a contradiction, huh? I was so absorbed in my fun that I didn't even hear Will come up behind me.

"I don't think this ship has been this clean in years."

I jumped before beaming up at him. "Well, to be fair, oh wait, this is Jack's ship we're talking about, I don't want to be fair. It _was_ a mess." I gigged.

"You certainly are working hard. I think you've earned a little break." He winked and I blushed profusely at the devious expression in his eyes.

I pretended to consider it. "But Gibbs told me..."

Will arched an eyebrow. "When have you ever listened to Gibbs before?"

"Good point." I stood up and he grabbed my hand and led me towards the prow of the ship. I sighed with contentment as I stared out at the crystalline waters of the ocean against the pure blue cloudless sky. "No matter how many times you look at it, the view is still amazing."

"I think the view is better from where I'm standing. I get to see you." He said, a smile curving his lips.

Now_ that_ made my previous blush seem pale by comparison. My current blush was somewhere in the color palette of 'Didn't Wear Sunscreen While In The Sun For 12 Hours' or tomato.

"Mary, I have something I would like to ask you."

I nodded, still comfortably ignorant. "Ask away."

With a deep breath, Will went down on one knee.

...

What the hell was going on?!

He held my hand tenderly and pulled a beautiful golden ring from his pocket. He asked softly, "Mary, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" His dark eyes searched mine looking for an answer.

For a moment, I was speechless. Yes, me, speechless. Didn't think it was possible, did you? Anyway... cough From girlhood, I had imagined what it would be like to be proposed to. I had always pictured candlelight, champagne, dinner and dancing. Not being covered in soap suds in the middle of the ocean on a pirate ship. Well, I wasn't going to be picky. Not with Will Turner looking so adorably vulnerable.

"Yes, yes, yes," I breathed, "The question should be are you sure you want me?"

Will placed the band on my finger and I saw a diamond nestled in the golden band. "You, and no one else." He affirmed with a smile.

"Soap suds and all?"

"Soap suds and all."

I let out the loudest squeal I have ever uttered and threw my arms around his neck. "I'm going to be Mrs. William Turner!" I planted a kiss on his lips that was definitely anything but chaste.

We heard cheers erupt from the crew and we both laughed sheepishly. Mr. Gibbs beamed like a proud father and clapped Will on the back and gave me a very un-pirate-y hug. "We figured you were up to something. Never thought it was the marriage business." He chuckled.

"Thank you?" I replied with a questioning giggle.

"Now, Mr. Turner, I think your intended has some work to finish. And I think you do to. I'll excuse your lollygagging this once." Gibbs winked and with a regretful sigh, Will and I parted ways for awhile with a quick kiss.

Of course, I wasn't actually going straight back to work. First, I had some news to share with my best friend. "ROSE I NEED TO TALK TO YOU RIGHT NOW I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE HAVING SEX WITH JACK I NEED TO TELL YOU SOMETHING PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE COME OUT HERE!" I shouted and banged repeatedly on the door to Jack's cabin.

I was immeasurably pleased with myself when Kelsey's blonde head poked out of the door. "What on Earth could get you this excited? I haven't seen you this wired since... no, wait, I can't even think of a specific instance anymore. What's going on?"

Without a word, I flung my hand in her face and screeched happily as I waved my ring triumphantly, "WILL PROPOSED! WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!"

"OH MY GOD! JACK PROPOSED LAST NIGHT!"

"OH MY GOD! NO WAY!"

"OH MY GOD! WAY!"

This pattern of girlish teenage babbling continued for about another 5 minutes or so before we had both stopped jumping up and down.

"This is so exciting! We're both going to be brides!" Kelsey clapped her hands eagerly.

"I know!"

"Oh I can't believe it!"

I gave her one of my famous back-breaking hugs and we both began chattering about plans for our respective weddings as she accompanied me back up on deck.

...


	5. Making Port

**A/N: We hum the pirates theme song all day. Because of this story.**

Later that night as Will and I swung in our hammock, he suddenly asked me, "Mary, do you like this life?"

"What, being a pirate?" I replied thoughtfully. "Well, I'll say that it's nothing I ever expected."

He nodded in agreement. "I was wondering, would you be opposed to returning to Port Royal?"

"We're kind of wanted for piracy." I reminded him cautiously.

Will waved his hand dismissively. "The Governor would grant us pardons, I'm sure of it." Now he became serious, and stroked my cheek gently, "But I want to provide you with a better life. One where we could live together, just the two of us. Not always surrounded by others. One where we could raise a family without worrying about the kind of life they would be born into."

I saw his point and took a deep breath. "I didn't think this would last forever. In all honesty, I do miss life on land. And," I met his eyes and smiled, "there's nothing I would like better than starting a family with you. But do you think Jack would let us go?"

"He owes us too much to stop us." Will pointed out before asking hesitantly. "Would you be willing to leave your sister?"

This stopped me. I began slowly, "More than anything, I want her to be happy. And I know that being with Jack makes her happy. I wouldn't do anything to get in the way of that. If we do leave, I'll miss her terribly. But I really think it's for the best if we made our own way." My eyes were tearing a little and I wiped them surreptitiously so Will wouldn't see.

Will held me tighter and whispered gently, "I'll talk to Jack in the morning."

…

Making port was probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. The moment that I saw Port Royal with its British flags waving in the distance, my heart was torn. I wanted so badly to stay with Kelsey and Jack, but I knew I couldn't. But going with Will somehow seemed to be the right thing for me.

We docked, and the crew pulled out the plank for the shore. Will hastily moved down it; I knew he was anxious to be back on land. I stood at the edge, hugging Kelsey tightly, "You better write me or something, ok?"

"I wish we had our cell phones." She said quietly, wistfully.

"Mary, are you coming?" Will called from the dock.

"Yes, just a minute!" I replied. I turned back to her, "Sorry, Will's just too impatient."

"I know." She laughed, but her eyes were full of tears, "I'll miss you."

"Oh damn it, don't make me cry, too!" I wiped fiercely at my eyes, "We'll see each other again soon, I promise. You'll be here for my wedding?"

"I hope so." She said with a sad smile.

We embraced again. Jack appeared at the top of the plank, "Come on, Rose, we have to go. Things to do, places to see."

"Yes, I know!" she said, "Apparently our boyfriends share similar traits."

"Not that they'd admit it."

We giggled. Will grabbed my hand, and started to bring me onto the rickety wooden dock of Port Royal while Jack pulled on Kelsey's forearm to bring her aboard the Pearl.

"Bye!" Kelsey shouted as she went.

We waved at each other fervently as the ship went on its merry way into the Caribbean.

After the ship had disappeared into the horizon, Will squeezed my shoulders, "Are you alright, Mary?"

"Yes…no."

He chuckled, and kissed my cheek, "We'll see them soon."

"I can't believe that man is going to be my brother-in-law." I said, wrinkling my nose.

"Oh Lord, I never thought about that. Jack and I will be…" he said in a hushed tone, "…related." He shuddered. After regaining composure, he grabbed my hand, "Let's go start our life together."

"I wholeheartedly agree."

_**3 Months Later…**_

The Black Pearl rocked back and forth on the waves; it was the middle of the night, and Gibbs was walking about the deck, singing drunkenly. Kelsey was leaning anxiously on the starboard side, watching the dark waters for her fiancé.

A murder of crows cackled above her, heading towards Assassins' Island in the distance. Jack had been there over 4 hours, retrieving something…he wouldn't tell her what exactly that 'something' was, however. She heard screams from the island, and her blood ran cold, her heart clutching in her chest. Why did Jack put himself in danger like this?

She saw a small object bobbing on the surface of the ocean nearby, and then the sound of a gunshot. Jack's gun. She smiled with relief. He started to row with a skeleton's arm toward the ship, and as he approached, she waved to him.

"Is that you, love?" he called.

"Yes, it's me." She said as he stopped by the ship, "What took you so long?"

"Matters got complicated," he said. She helped him onto the Pearl, and he kissed her softly on the lips, "You didn't have to wait up for me."

"Yes, I did." They walked across the deck, his arm slung around her shoulders, "You know how much I worry."

"Ah, well, that's why I love you." He kissed her again, this time slipping in a little tongue.

"Captain?" a voice asked from behind them.

The pair swiveled to face the entire crew.

"Would you mind telling us what you risked life and limb for?" Gibbs inquired, and paused, "Though not necessarily in that order."

Jack grinned, and whipped out a very antiquated piece of parchment. It had a crudely-drawn key in the middle.

"Gents, we are looking for this."

"What is it?" a crew member called out.

Jack gave him a look, "It's a key."

"So we're searching for…what this key opens?"

"No." Jack shook his head.

Kelsey had put up with the ineptitude long enough, "We're looking for the key!"

"Exactly, love." Jack nodded, "Because what is the use of finding what the key opens without having the means to open it?"

Some of the crew stared blankly back at him.

Jack opened his mouth to say something, but a sudden flash of fur scampered past him, taking his hat along with it.

"Damn this monkey!" Jack howled, pulling out his pistol, "It won't die!"

The bullet hit the monkey square in the chest, and it stopped, dazed for a second while Jack grabbed his hat, and pulled it down solidly onto his dark dreadlocks.

"That's that, then." He said.

"Do we have a heading, Cap'n?" Gibbs approached the frazzled Jack.

"Yes, we will be going…" Jack held out his compass, and stared at it, frowning, "Rose, will you disappear for a second? You keep making it point to you."

"Sorry." She hid behind the mast.

"Alright…in a general…" Jack pointed Southwest, "…that way direction."

"Aye, aye!" the crew chorused.

"Gibbs, man the wheel. We're going to bed." Jack said with a yawn, "I'll take over for ye in about 3 or 4 hours."

Gibbs gave him a mock salute, and was off. Jack and Kelsey went to his cabin, and after both of them not being able to sleep, decided to speak of wedding plans instead.

Jack fiddled with her engagement ring, "Where would you like to get married?"

"Well, not on Tortuga, if that's what you're asking." She said, intertwining her fingers through his, "I'd like to go somewhere where I won't get arrested, or, well, die."

"Well, um, that's quite slim pickens, then." He said, embarrassed, "Since I'm wanted in every port in the Caribbean."

She sighed, face down in the pillows, "That's really great, Jack. Are there any cleaner places than Tortuga?"

"Not really."

"Oh, fine." She conceded, "But there must be a few compromises."

"Name them."

She propped herself up on her elbows, "One: you take a damn bath."

He hesitantly replied, "Alright…what else?"

"You're combing your hair."

"What? No, I'm not!" he said, throwing his hands to his hair, "This is my hair!"

"Well, I won't marry you if you don't." she said stubbornly.

"Christ, woman, you make some very tough demands." He kissed her naked shoulder, "But I'll do it."

"Thank you." She said, very business-like in nature, "I'm happy now."

"That's good." He pulled her in close to him, "You're so beautiful, you know."

"Oh, no, I'm not." She grinned.

"Don't play the hating yourself game. You know I don't like that." He said, kissing her forehead.

"Mmhmm…" her head was resting against his chest, "I'm gonna sleep now, alright…?"

"You do that, love."

After she had fallen asleep, he slowly left the bed, going to pore over his maps.

Kelsey woke up an hour or so later, his presence noticeably gone. She peered into his study. No sign of him. He must have gone up to the wheel. Yawning widely, she climbed back into the comfortable bed.

This ship still felt strangely empty without Mary and Will. There was no one to talk to when she had cramps or anything, and bothering the crew was no fun by herself.

Suddenly, she heard a commotion from above and Jack's voice shouting, "Land! Land! Go the shallows now!"

Kelsey threw on her night dress and rushed up to the main deck. Everyone was running about, still half-asleep. It was pretty chaotic. She saw Jack hiding by his cabin door, breathing heavily, "Jack, what the hell is going on?"

"Land. We have to go to land." He chanted under his breath.

"Why? What's happening? You look as if you've just stared death in the face."

He covered her mouth, "Don't say that!"

Gibbs rushed over, "Jack, mother of God! What have you gotten everyone so damn riled up about?"

"We need to find land quickly." He repeated.

"Yes, I know that." Gibbs lowered his voice, "Jack, what's chasing us?"

"Nothing." He said quickly.

…

"Jack, stop freaking me out." Kelsey was perched on the table as he swigged on a bottle of rum, "Tell me what happened."

"I saw Bootstrap."

"In a dream?"

"No, in the flesh."

"Are you sure?" she asked after a short silence.

"Absolutely sure."

"Well, where is he now?"

"Gone. Back on his ship."

"Whose ship?"

Jack looked at her, eyes wide, "Davy Jones."

She blinked, "Davy who?"

"Jones," he repeated, "He's captured there for 100 years."

"Oh no!" she exclaimed, "Why?"

"He didn't know whether to live or die."

"That's terrible."

Jack acknowledged the sentiment with a grunt.

"Why are you so freaked, though?"

"Because I owe Jones my soul."

"…what?"

Jack fingered his compass, "I wanted a ship. Badly. But I didn't have the manpower to commandeer one. So, I sold my soul to Jones to be Captain of the Pearl for 13 years. I was mutinied 2 years into the sentence. Apparently it still counts. My time is up."

"Um…no, it's not." Kelsey said determinedly, "He sure as hell isn't taking you from me. No way, no how. You are mine, mine, mine."

"I admire your enthusiasm, but it doesn't help the situation." He smiled half-heartedly.

Kelsey sat on his lap, and put her arms around his neck, "Well, what can we do to stop him?"

"He can't step on dry land." Jack mused, "So figuratively, I could just stay on dry land the rest of my life and he'd never catch me."

Kelsey lit up, "That's great, because I have something I need to tell you-"

Jack, clearly in his own world, interrupted her, "No, no." he shook his head, "I can't do that. I can't."

Her mood deflated, "Right…"

"My life is meant to be at sea." He said resolutely, "We will stop him. Thanks, love, you always inspire me."

He kissed her, and she returned it distractedly. There was something important that she needed to say, but she guessed it would have to wait.

Unfortunately, this little something couldn't wait too long.

"Are you alright?" he asked, staring into her eyes, "You seem a little off today."

"I'm fine." She smiled, "Just worried about you, of course."

He pinched her cheek fondly, "No need to concern yourself with my well-being. I am much more concerned with yours."

"No, it's nothing." She kissed him, "It's nothing at all, just very tired, I guess. It's been a long night."

Unless you consider 'nothing' being 3 and half months pregnant.


End file.
